Honorary butterflies

Some people have pretty original career choices. Imagine spending a lifetime as a scientist studying moths of the family Zygaenidae. Is that even fun?

Perhaps it is. As a child, I was also intrigued by the burnets, as these moths are called in English. (In Sweden, we call them "swarming crossbreeds". Yes, really.) They are conspicuous, diurnal and look very different from other moths, let alone butterflies. To me, they always vaguely resembled hymenopterans, perhaps parasitic wasps? Their status as diurnal moths add to the confusion, especially since the Swedish term for moth means "nocturnal butterfly". The burnets, it seems, are something as curious as diurnal nocturnal butterflies! Apparently, some scientists have jokingly called them honorary butterflies.

The author of the foreword to this book, Eva Rotschild, has experienced even stranger feelings towards burnets: "As a beginner I found them somewhat sinister and I still think their crude aposematic characteristics disseminate a subtle sense of Angst, difficult to define". Are burnets allies of Sartre, Kafka and Camus, one wonders?

As for the book itself, "The Western Palaearctic Zygaenidae" is essentially a mini-encyclopaedia covering all species of burnets found in Europe, Northwest Africa, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and the Transcaucasus. The closely related forester moths are also included. They belong to the same family as the burnets, but are less conspicuous. The book actually ends with a new species of forester, discovered in Hungary as late as ten years ago!

The book isn't suited for the general reader. However, the language is surprisingly non-technical, making the book useful for entomology students or amateur naturalists with a special interest for moths. The introductory chapters cover all aspects of zygaenid biology. What scientists find most interesting about burnets are their high degree of geographical and individual variation, their toxicity (burnets contain cyanide!), the long diapause of their larvae, and their local abundance. The latter makes burnets an excellent indicator species of environmental change or destruction.

"The Western Palaearctic Zygaenidae" also contains sections on collection, breeding and the history of zygaenid research, complete with photos of famous entomologists who studied these insects (only old men, it seems).

The main part of the book contains the usual species presentations, range maps and colour plates, showing burnets and foresters in boring, pinned positions. Only a few photos show zygaenids in their natural environment. At least, they are in colour.

Recommended - if you are fan of honorary butterflies.